Pieces
by kaitothegreat
Summary: "This is written by the well-known psychic researcher, Oliver Davis! Don't you know him?" A series of random one shots centered around Naru and Mai.
1. Snooze

1- "If he could look half as peaceful as he is now, wouldn't that be nice?"

_Summary changes along with each respective chapter._

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><p>Mai's lip tugged into a smile when the clock by the door struck six in the evening. She flew up from her seat, ignoring her aching butt and began stuffing all her belongings into her bag without a care if it looked bloated. For now, Mai couldn't wait to leave the office that she had painstakingly been in for the whole day.<p>

She zipped her bag close satisfyingly and was about to leave when she stopped.

_'Ah, I almost forgot that there's still tea left.'_ Mai placed her bag back on her desk and contemplated as she looked at Naru's door._ 'Should I be a considerate and responsible assistant he always have or just forget all about it?'_

Giving a defeated sigh, she trudged to the door and gave a soft knock. "Hey Naru, there's still tea in the pot. Get them yourself if you want."

There wasn't an answer, which was strange because he would _always_ reply her if she talked or mentioned about tea. Even an annoyed grunt was counted as a reply, according to his _excellent_ upbringing.

Mai frowned and knocked again. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly turned the doorknob and poked her head in. From her point of view, all she could see was his tidied desk and empty chair.

_'Wait, did he left before I knocked off? That isn't possible, I was outside his office the whole time!'_

She swung the door open and stepped inside hurriedly before noticing something she thought was impossible to happen.

Naru was lying on the couch fixated at the corner of his office, his head on the arm rest, arms crossed on his chest, one leg hanging loosely on the other arm rest while the other was slightly bent on the knee.

Only after a moment passed that Mai realized she was holding onto her breath the entire time. She blinked, and blinked again but the image of Naru sleeping on the couch still remained and she finally decided that she must be the one sleeping instead because this just couldn't be happening.

Mai rubbed her eyes and pinched the side of her arm before suppressing a yelp from coming out from her mouth._ 'This isn't a dream. But what the heck?!'_ She screamed in her head._ 'Na-Naru is sleeping!'_

Slowly, she tiptoed across the office and stood an arm away from the couch, afraid to go closer. It was like she was inspecting a dangerous creature behind a thin glass. Mai wouldn't want that creature to be woken up; she wouldn't know if that glass was able to withstand the damage that may be done.

She put both of her hands behind her back and her eyes softened._ 'Sometimes, I forget that he's a human too. He needs sleep, he needs air and most importantly, he needs his tea.'_

His arms raised slightly on his chest before it sinks down when he breathed out. Mai didn't know what was going on in her head but watching his chest rising up and down seemed more interesting than taking a bath and enjoying her favorite TV drama that she would miss if she didn't go home right now.

Her eyes slowly lingered from his chest and to his charming face. This was one of the few rare times when his brows weren't creased, eyes weren't narrowed, both corner of his mouth weren't lowered...

"If he could look half as peaceful as he is now, wouldn't that be nice?" Mai muttered to herself and her cheeks twitched._ 'Just like the Naru in my dream.'_

Mai straightened her posture and glanced around the room. Instantly, her eyes fell on his jacket that was hung around the back of his office chair. She glanced quickly over at Naru and tiptoed over, making sure she wouldn't knock onto anything on the way there and back. And for once in her life, she succeeded, without tripping too.

She glanced down at the warm jacket in her hands before looking up at Naru again. All of the sudden, she didn't know what actually compelled her to even get the jacket in the first place. Was she seriously going to place it over his sleeping body?

Her fingers caressed the softness of his jacket and she bit her lips. _'W-Whatever! If he asked, I'll just deny it. Besides, he probably don't even care.'_

While Mai chanted to all the Gods she knew, praying that her boss wouldn't wake up at that moment, she carefully spread the jacket over his chest and stomach before stepping away from the couch.

Mai always imagined him to be a light sleeper, but it didn't seem like the case. He was still sleeping peacefully, that angelic expression plastered on his face even after she had done so many things in his office. It wasn't like she wanted him to wake up so she was pretty grateful for it. Or maybe she was just so skilled in acting like a ninja. She smiled proudly to herself.

Her eyes then moved to the cup of empty tea on the desk in front of the sofa and she quietly picked it up. He definitely didn't need this now and of course, as his best and wonderful and cute assistant he could ever wish for, she shall wash the cup for him without even asking to be paid overtime. She then approached to the door.

Once the door closed behind her, Naru stirred in his position. His eyes slowly opened as he gazed down at jacket covering his upper body.

From inside his quiet office, he could hear the water tap in his kitchen squeakily opened and water rushing out and hitting onto something. His eyes only peeled away from his jacket and on his office door when a familiar loud click sounded whenever Mai closed the front door.

Slowly, he raised himself off the sofa and his jacket fell onto his lap. Naru sighed.

When Mai was up to something no good, she would refuse to look into his eyes as she speaks. When Mai was sad, she would cry and vent out her frustrations freely witout any fear of hiding them. When Mai was angry, she would give a soft hiss, roll her eyes and cross her arms in a huff.

Basically, he could easily read her like a book, and then there were times when he couldn't. Like that moment when she decided to care and put his jacket around him before leaving as quietly as she could. (He would applaud for her sneaking ability if he wasn't pretending to sleep)

What exactly was she doing back then?

In the end, he choose not to wake up at that instant and missing that chance to embarrass her for life. He could have done that, but he decided not to because that version of Mai wasn't registered into a small part of his amazing brain, which was specially reserved for her. That was why he wasn't sure how to deal with her back then.

Naru thought she hated him, always calling him a jerk and the endless amount of nicknames she made up on the spot. But in the next second, she could be caring and nice in a way that made him uncomfortable sometimes.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he could set up another department in Britain just to research about Mai and no funds would be enough just to do it.

That rash, overreacting, senseless, incompetent, stubborn, compassionate, social intelligent, good tea maker-

He ran his fingers through his hair annoyingly. _'How did I end up complimenting that idiot?'_

His eyes slowly moved to the jacket on his lap again.

There was no need for anyone to care for him. Even if he needed someone to put a jacket over him, he would rather force his soul out of his own body to do that on his own than needing Mai of all people to do it for him. Naru stood up from his seat and trudged to his desk.

He couldn't believe he just wasted so much time away thinking about these stupid things when there were still a lot of things left undone.

.o.

The next day, Mai burst through the SPR door like every other days with a huge smile on her face.

"Good morning!" She exclaimed.

"I don't understand how you can shamelessly add a _good_ in your morning greeting when you're late." Naru flipped a page of the report while leaning against the sofa in the main room, his eyes never leaving the papers.

"It's just three minutes, are you going to be all fussy about it?"

"Then I don't want to hear you complaining when you're going to knock off three minutes later today."

Mai hissed, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

_'Just like an open book.'_ Naru flipped the page again.

When her anger died down, Mai skipped to his side and peered at what he was looking at. "Is that a new case?"

He shut the report in her face and walked back to his room. "Mai, tea."

"Ugh, jerk!" Mai wanted to stomp on his feet but thought that the consequences may be too heavy to bear. Instead, she went straight to the kitchen after sticking her tongue out at him.

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><p>Thank you for reading, hope you guys liked it! Reviews are very appreciated!<p> 


	2. Trapped

2- "You're just going to trap me inside this base until the case is over, huh?"

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><p>"This is <em>so<em> unfair!"

Unable to help it, Lin's attention turned away from the boring and static monitors and onto the girl who was sitting on a chair, arms crossed with a pout on her face. He shouldn't have done that though, because once Mai realized he just glanced at her, her attention was fully on him now.

"This is _so_ unfair, Lin-san."

Lin gave a silent sigh and turned to the monitors again. "Naru did it for your sake."

"No he didn't. He's just a selfish jerk."

"You're injured." Was all Lin could reply.

Mai grabbed her chair and pulled it towards Lin, slamming it heavily on the ground behind his chair and slumped back on her seat. She then lifted her bandaged arm and waved it exasperatedly. "It's just a scratch! Ayako exaggerated my injury!"

Lin glanced over his shoulders, scrutinizing her right arm that was moving around his face desperately. He turned away again. "I wouldn't call that a scratch. But if you insist, it still didn't change the fact that the ghost hurled a knife at you."

She pursed her lips, her face turning bright red as she sighed grumpily and sank further down into the chair. "But I want to help and not sit here the whole day and doing nothing" Mai mumbled.

Not knowing what else to say, Lin decided to drop the conversation and continued on his work.

Mai leaned forward slightly, her fingers gripping around Lin's chair while she peered what was in front his shoulder. Reports were spread across the table, with nothing but paragraph of words all over the paper and it gave Mai a headache just by looking at it.

"Naru is evil."

Lin knew he shouldn't have looked at her in the first place, but it was too late to regret now.

Maybe taking a break away from work now wouldn't be that bad. Madoka always reminded him about that too. Giving in, his eyes moved away from the papers as he turned his position slightly to face Mai, his focus back on the sudden comment she just made.

"Because he didn't allow you to leave the base?"

"Yes. And also because he tortured you to read all these reports and watch the monitors every single time. Aren't you sick of it?"

"Not really."

Mai suddenly clapped her hands, slightly surprising Lin as he raised an eyebrow.

"We should rebel against him."

"What?"

Her eyes glinted with glee. "If we unite and join forces together to rebel against Naru, we'll definitely win!" She clenched her hand and constantly pumped it in the air. "We deserve fairer treatment! We deserve better than this! Anti-Naru!"

Lin turned his head away to suppress a light chuckle.

Oblivious at how her ridiculous act almost made Lin laugh, Mai sighed and brought her hand down to her lap, her eyes closed before she showed a look of determination. "One day we should just stop going to work. Let's see if he can survive without us."

"I'm pretty sure he will though."

Mai huffed. "But he can't make his own tea." Realization dawned on her face when she realized what she just said. "There's finally _something_ I can do better than him!" Mai gave a triumphant smirk.

Lin cast a glance over at Mai, his lips slightly parted but he closed them immediately. Actually, Naru knew how to make tea back in Britain and he did it exceptionally well that it could have been on par with Mai's tea too. He wanted to share this bit of information with her but he thought it would be better to let her be happy about herself for now.

Furthermore, no one should know that Naru was from Britain too.

"He thinks he's perfect." Mai rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "But he's nothing but a workaholic freak. A crazy work-sucker vampire. Does he even sleeps?"

At that moment, she noticed a change in Lin's expression but she continued because she wasn't even _halfway_ done with her complaining. "He doesn't even know his manners! He never once say thank you to me for bringing him tea or reports or anything at all. Is he raised by apes? A _hn_ isn't even a reply!"

Lin cleared his throat and Mai blinked at him for the sudden interruption. He glanced over at the door before looking back at her again and she tilted her head, puzzled but only realized what Lin was hinting at when she could hear someone approaching behind her.

Even if she turned into ashes, she would always recognize the sound of those soft footsteps that only one person she knew could make.

She bit her quivering lips and took in a huge breath.

"But of course!" Mai quickly exclaimed, "Naru is the best boss I could ever ask for. He's so caring, nice and understanding and he trapped me inside this hell of a base just to keep me safe! Don't you agree, Lin-san?"

Mai could feel a presence standing behind her after Lin turned his head away and began checking the monitors again. Mustering the best smile she could, she whirled around in her seat and gave a surprise gasp. "Naru! What a coincidence! I was talking about you with Lin-san."

Naru stared at her impassively before diverting his eyes over at Lin. "Any changes in temperature?"

"The first room on the third floor dropped by six degrees, other than that, nothing else change."

He nodded at the information before picking up the papers from the table to read.

Mai sighed inwardly, relief washed over her face. _'I guess he didn't hear what I said about him. He'd kill me if he knew I compared him with apes.'_

Biting her lips, she slowly stood up from her seat while swaying her body side to side. _'Now, let me try my luck again.'_

"Ne' Naru." Mai began. "Can I help with anything? Is there a camera that is out of angle? What about the basement? I'm pretty sure Masako can't cover the whole area herself. Or maybe the forest at the back of the house? There might be some clues about the children's disappearance!"

"Mai."

"Yes?"

"Tea."

He totally ignored her!

She gritted her teeth, trying to control her entire nerve system from sending her fist to his oh-so-perfect face. All Mai could do was to roll her eyes and in fact, she rolled her eyes so hard that she thought they would just fall off her eye-socket any moment.

But looking on the bright side, at least she's doing something_ outside_ the base! Showing her nice set of teeth, she spun around and headed to the door.

Naru narrowed his eyes. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the kitchen." She gave an _are-you-seriously-asking-such-a-stupid-question_ look.

"No." In return, he sent her his usual_ I-dare-you-to-defy-me_ look. "There's an electric kettle and tea bags here. Use it."

Mai scowled by the door. "You're just going to trap me inside this base until the case is over, huh?"

"For once, Mai, you're correct."

She thought of breaking into a run and leaving the base. But if Mai did that, she got a feeling she would officially say goodbye to this place. Not because she died or something, but because Naru would catch her before the ghost could and throw her out of this building. Even worse. He might fire her on the spot.

Her grip around the door frame tightened and she hissed. Naru wasn't called cruel without a reason.

Grudgingly, she stomped back inside and over to the small table standing at the corner of their base. At first Mai was happy that the client made the effort to set up the pantry area for them, but now, she took back all her gratitude and wished they weren't so kind in the first place.

After preparing the tea, Mai threw a spoon inside the cup and stirred for a bit before scooping the saucer and lifting the cup up professionally. She sent an irritated look at Naru before making her way over to him.

"Here." The cup was shoved to his face.

Naru calmly took the saucer from her hands and gave a smile. No, it wasn't the smile that dream Naru always gave to her, neither was it the smile he used when she apologized to him after the case in Yasuhara's school. It was the smile that could freeze the underworld and force all the dead back to the living because it was too bloody cold.

Oh great, more job for Naru. He must be really happy.

With that incredibly creepy smile still plastered on his face, his lips parted and the next couple of words that came out of his mouth were something she didn't expect to hear in this life, not in the next thousand of life either.

"Thank you for the tea, _Mai_."

_'He definitely heard what I said!' _She cried in her head as she nodded weakly and trudged back to her chair, this time dragging it to the middle of the base, far away from Lin and Naru before sitting heavily on it.

For the first time in her life, Mai wished she was in the boring SPR office instead.

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><p>Thank you for reading, hope you guys liked this one as much as the previous chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!<p> 


	3. Marshmallow

3- "Your incompetency has dragged SPR's reputation down in many cases. Are you going to further ruin my business by making yourself an embarrassment in public?"

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><p>Mai knew she was going to screw something up in this case. It wasn't a prediction but more of a confirmation that something bad would happen, be it falling into a manhole, allowing an entire ceiling almost squashing her flat, having ghosts' attention on no one but her...<p>

It was amazing that she still hadn't lose a limb or two.

Then again, the reason why she was still alive and kicking was because of a certain boss that saved her all the damn time.

And this time was no different.

Before the tall and filled bookshelf could crash and bury her, Mai felt two hands pushing her away and she ended up falling onto the safer ground beside the collapsed shelf. As darkness began creeping into her vision, she could only hear Masako's cries and Lin's worried yell before everything turned black.

She was sure that her name wasn't what they were shouting for.

.o.

"Ow."

That was the first word that left her lips before Mai could muster the strength to peel open her eyes. Light was the first thing she saw and she immediately squinted her eyes in annoyance, mumbling a few noise that seemed impossible for a human to make.

"She's awake."

Blinking a few times, she finally accommodated to the brightness and started to struggle in her lying position.

"Easy. Let me help you."

Mai looked up at Bou-san who helped her like what he said. She felt the comfortable sheets under her and glanced around when she was in a sitting position.

"Where am I?" Mai asked dumbly.

"Hospital." Bou-san sighed. Mai couldn't blame him. This word was used too frequently in between cases.

"You had us worried, _again_." Ayako crossed her arms and snarled. "Why didn't you run when you knew that bookshelf was going to fall on you?"

Bou-san rolled his eyes. "There's a term called_ reaction-time_. You might want to look it up."

"Bookshelf?" Mai touched her head and winced before realization dawned over her. "Bookshelf." She repeated, staring at her legs beneath the blanket and glanced up sharply at the quibbling pair when she recalled the two strong hands that pushed her away from danger.

"Where's Naru?"

The two of them stopped instantly as their eyes showed a flash of uneasiness that made Mai feel just as troubled as them. Unknowingly, her grip on the blanket tightened when they slowly turned their heads towards her, those expressions gone and now masked with feigned calmness that Mai could tell was all an act.

"He's fine." Bou-san spoke first.

"You're lying." She muttered before glancing at Ayako who looked guiltily away.

Without hesitation, Mai threw the covers aside and jumped out of her bed. There was definitely something wrong with Naru that both of them decided to keep his well-being as a secret. And somehow, that thought scared her terribly that she didn't want to think about it, but she still wanted to know that answer.

"Where are you going?!" Ayako grabbed her arm before she could take another step towards the door. "You just regained consciousness."

"I'm going to find Naru." Mai snapped.

"He's resting in his ward." Bou-san interjected between the two women who were glaring intensely at each other.

"And I want to see him!"

Ayako finally released her hold and whirled around, leaving her back to face Mai instead. "Then don't come back crying to me later." Ayako glanced back over her shoulders, her eyes showing that same discomfort previously before she looked away again.

"Bou-san!" Mai grabbed hold onto his shirt and immediately wrinkled it under her constant tugging. "What _exactly_ happened to Naru?!"

The monk closed his eyes and bit his lips. When he opened his eyes again, it was filled with an emotion that Mai thought he was not capable of showing before. And she didn't like it at all.

"Naru... he didn't make it."

"Make what? Make pancakes? What are you saying?"

Ayako turned around in her position, her eyes now filled with fury. "You're just avoiding the answer!"

"Oi." Bou-san nudged the priest unceremoniously.

"You're kidding, right?" Mai shook her head and took a step back. "You two always play tricks on me and I'm not going to fall for it this time." She whirled around and burst right through the door and neither of them stopped her this time.

But after running a few meters away from her ward, Mai fell right straight onto the ground, her legs slowly feeling numb by the fear that was spreading across her body like fire.

She curled her hands into balls of fist, feeling her hot tears rolling down her cheeks and raining down on her hands.

It was her fault, again. It was always her fault.

Of all things, this wasn't the death Mai imagined for Naru.

She always thought he would die from old age while sitting on his rocking chair, his body was only discovered by a burglar 80 weeks later because he was too in love with himself to get married and have kids with anyone. Or maybe he died from some liver disease because he drank so many cups of tea a day but continued to stay inside his office without having the need to pee. Or maybe because he turned into a zombie with the amount of sleep Mai assumed he was getting.

What she never expect was that he would die protecting her.

"I'm sorry, Naru." Mai sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"..."

"..."

"Why are you crying and lying in the middle of the corridor?"

Mai instantly froze in her position and only until a hiccup left her lips then she slowly moved her head to stare at what _or_ who the person standing before her was. On the cue, her eyes became wide enough to cover half of her face.

"N-Naru?" Her lips moved on its own as her attention was soon drawn away from his judging face and to his left hand that was wrapped with a cast.

The said man frowned. "Your incompetency has dragged SPR's reputation down in many cases. Are you going to further ruin my business by making yourself an embarrassment in public?"

For some reason, his insults seemed like a melody to her ears. His grumpy yet soothing voice echoing in her mind, the look of disdain in his beautiful eyes... It was insane to Mai but when she thought she would never hear or see him again, everything that she once hated about him suddenly turned out to be the best thing she ever lived for in her life.

Like a rabbit who just saw a carrot hanging on a tree, Mai jumped up from her feet and without warning, she wrapped her arms over his neck and continued her sobs again.

"I thought you died!" She exclaimed into his shoulder. It was then she realized how thin Naru was in her arms. "I thought you really died!"

Mai felt his shoulders tensed and his head shifting slightly towards her direction, but she didn't care about that at the moment. All she needed right now was something to confirm that Naru wasn't dead and that he was still alive, radiating that_ I-am-better-than-all-of-you_ aura no matter where he was.

She was never able to receive any confirmation before since both of her parents indeed, passed away.

As Mai was still hugging onto him, Naru couldn't breathe. No, it wasn't because she hugged him too tightly. In fact, her arms around his neck felt like a marshmallow pillow to him. The reason why he couldn't breathe was because it had been almost eternity since he last felt someone being so close to him that even the barrier he always made with his crossed arms couldn't protect him anymore.

He was confused. First, why was Mai randomly outside her ward and crying like a baby and claiming he died? Was it because she really wanted him to die so badly that she imagined his death before she even confirmed his body? Or was it because she hit her head too hard and had become more senseless than she already was?

Both reasons seemed plausible.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noted two figure stepping out of the ward he was originally intending to enter. He slowly moved his head awkwardly to the direction and instantly narrowed his eyes. It seemed that the anger he portrayed wasn't enough to taunt either of them as he watched Ayako smirking back at him while Bou-san was raising both of his eyebrows amusingly.

When he pondered what could make them bold enough to give him those kind of dirty looks, he realized that Mai was still hugging him and _that_, was the cause of it.

Naru cleared his throat and began to move his arm, slightly pushing Mai away. His slight actions instantly made Mai stepped back in embarrassment as quickly as she could before muttering an apology.

Her apologies were not accepted though.

"My acting skills are still as good as ever." Ayako fanned herself with the couple of bills in her hand as she sashayed over to the two. "I'm known as the drama queen in my high school years, did I forget to tell you that?"

Bou-san scoffed as he pushed his wallet further deep inside his pocket, his steps in sync with the redhead. "The reason why Mai fell for your stupid act was partially because of me."

Naru closed his eyes and sighed, finally knowing the true reason for Mai's behaviour. What was he expecting when he originally hired these fools?

Mai glowered and turned when she heard the culprits' voices. "You two! You liars!" She closed the remaining gap between them and glared. "Why the hell did you trick me?"

_'All the tears for nothing!'_ She screamed in her head._ 'And also... that embarrassing moment!' _Mai really wanted to strangle both of them right now but since they were in the hospital, she knew her efforts would be wasted if they received treatment immediately after collapsing from her vengeful hands.

"Because you're naive enough to believe our act." Ayako pinched Mai's cheeks as the latter growled even more menacingly, just like a wild animal that Naru claimed she was.

Bou-san wiggled his eyebrow and smirked over at their leader as the latter closed his eyes and began massaging his temple with his uninjured hand, trying really hard to stop a headache from coming. "Hey Naru, you have no idea how hard Mai cr-"

"Shut up!" Mai sent her hand to Bou-san's mouth. "I'll rip your lips off if you say another word."

Ayako turned her attention away from the amusing pair and onto the silent man clad in black. "Where's the rest?"

"The case isn't over." Naru flicked his gaze over to the three of them. "Lin went to get the car while I've asked the rest to go back to the base first instead of wasting time here fooling around." He didn't need to specify if he was referring to anyone when the hint was obviously as clear as water.

Bou-san pulled Mai's hand away, instantly getting the clue that Naru bluntly pointed out. "I guess it's back to work."

Naru focused his attention on the priest. "Matsuzaki-san, please stay and make sure Mai doesn't leave the hospital until she gets the doctor's approval."

"No problem."

Mai tilted her head at her boss. "Then what about you?"

"Lin has already done the discharge paperwork."

"B-but you're injured." She pointed at his bandaged hand.

Naru sent an irritated look. "So?"

"You're unreasonable." Mai put both hands on her hips. "Who's the one who always force me to stay in the base when I'm hurt?"

"Me."

She scowled. "That's a rhetorical question! Basically, what I'm trying to mean is that this is unfair. You're injured so you can't be involved in the case too."

"I'm not you, Mai. I'm injured because I saved you. You're injured because you're stupid enough to get hurt."

"The process of getting injured doesn't matter!" Mai felt like pulling out her hair. "What matters is that you're still unfit for work!"

Naru turned to another direction of the corridor and directed his gaze at the other man in the group. "Bou-san, we're going back."

"Aye aye, Captain." The monk walked past Mai and followed behind Naru.

"Are you ignoring me?!" Mai was about to lunge herself forward until Ayako had to step in and pulled her shoulders back. "You hypocrite!"

He stopped on his tracks and glanced back over his shoulders. His face showed no emotions that said he was pissed at what Mai just called him, but since he stopped and even bothered to look at her, she knew he was at least feeling _something_ close to anger.

"It doesn't matter if my hand is injured because I use my brains to work." Naru eyed Mai carefully before he gave a small smirk. "Maybe it's alright for you to go back to work too. Even if you hurt your head, what's the difference?"

Mai was boiling with rage. In the end, she was the one who ended up pissed. "I'll stay here forever and spend all the stupid SPR funds for the hospital bills and see what _you_ can do!"

"All_ I_ can do is to fire you and you'll settle those bills yourself."

Mai didn't have the chance to think of a good answer to shout back at him when he spun around and made his grand exit by turning around the corner of the short corridor and instantly disappearing in sight. Bou-san left as well, not before waving and giving Mai a sympathetic smile and then running to catch up with Naru.

Ayako sighed.

Mai clutched onto her head. "My head hurts." She moaned and the mother-like figure could only shake her head.

"That's for arguing with your boyfriend."

"He's_ not_ my boyfriend." Mai snarled. She would blush and deny weakly with stutters and mumbles whenever they teased her about Naru, but this time, she was so frustrated that she _couldn't_ imagine having a boyfriend like Naru. If she did, she would rather just jump off the building. "That asshole." Mai grumbled and winced again.

Ayako gently took Mai's arms. "Let's go back to your room, you're not supposed to be walking around right after waking up, stupid."

Deciding that was the best, Mai couldn't help but gave a defeated sigh and let Ayako lead her back to her ward.

_'Stupid Naru.'_ Her thoughts echoed in her mind._ 'Only you're capable of making me grateful, happy and angry in just ten minutes.'_

Her head hurts again and Mai rolled her eyes to herself, pushing those thoughts right to the back of her mind. She needed to recover fast and get out of the hospital as soon as possible. After all, she still owed Naru a good comeback she just thought of and she couldn't wait to tell him right in the face.

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><p>Wow, this one-shot is particularly long.<br>Prompts are welcomed though, but it might take time for me to write them hehe.  
>Reviews are appreciated!<p> 


	4. Concern

4- "And the grumpy 80 year old man is welcoming you back to the base."

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><p><em>Men can't be trusted.<em>

That was what Mai was told when she was still staying at her teacher's house. Often during dinner, her teacher got too carried away with her complains about her boyfriend and turned drunk from drinking too much sake. And then the next day, Mai was made to promise before all the Gods that she wouldn't tell anyone what happened the previous night.

Now that she was no longer living with her teacher, Mai wondered how things were with her boyfriend ever since.

And_ maybe_ because she was no longer living with her teacher, her originally firm mind-set of being cautious around men was beginning to wear off.

"Hello."

Mai blinked and looked up from her chart. There standing right in front was the son of the house's owner, smiling merrily like he wasn't even scared for being inside a possibly haunted mansion at all. Now that she noticed, he couldn't be any older than her. At most two or three years older.

"Hey." She replied and went back to finish marking the temperature of the room.

She remembered him introducing himself earlier. Was his name... Takeshi? Honestly, there were so many people living in this mansion, so how was she supposed to remember everyone's name all at once when she could barely remember what she ate for breakfast? Of course she didn't dare to ask again to confirm what their names were, it would just make her a rude person who didn't bother to listen in the first place.

That, was what Naru would bluntly say to her if he was there to hear her request.

"What are you doing?"

She tilted her chart mindlessly over to him. "Checking the temperature for the room. It's the crucial part for the whole investigation."

"I see. Then are you done?"

"Almost."

He continued standing there and watching her doing her work. Mai wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but she wondered if he was just too bored around the house that staring at her doing such mundane stuff was actually interesting.

Unable to help it, Mai began a new conversation. "Aren't you supposed to be staying in your room?"

"Why? Are you chasing me away?" Takeshi gave a smirk.

"I-I mean, aren't you bored staying here and doing nothing here?"

"I'm not doing nothing." His smirk grew bigger. "I'm looking at you."

Mai blinked before clicking her pen and putting it in her back pocket. "Well, um... I'm done now though."

"Can I walk you back to your headquarters or base or whatever you named the room?"

"You can just call it our base."

"So is that a yes?"

She managed a smile. Maybe a company wouldn't hurt. "Yeah."

As the two walked back to the base, they conversed for a bit, often stopping in their tracks to process their reaction when one of them said something funny. This was what made Mai liked her work best even when the things she was doing was plain and monotonous. She enjoyed working and interacting with people, be it her old or new friends during her job.

Unlike _someone_ she knew.

"I still can't believe that the guy is your boss." Takeshi commented. "Isn't he a little too young to be one?"

Mai wondered if her mind and his were synchronized. It was that moment when she was thinking about Naru when Takeshi decided to talk about him too. Pushing those irrelevant thoughts to the back of her head, she sighed at his question.

"He may be young but he acts like a grumpy 80 year old man."

"And the grumpy 80 year old man is welcoming you back to the base."

Mai froze and her feet grew still. Takeshi had already turned his head back to the new voice that interrupted their conversation and only a few seconds later then Mai followed suit.

"Unbelievable," Naru spoke, his back leaning against the door frame and his arms were crossed like usual, "skiving on your job and walking past the base like a blind mice, you still have the cheeks to badmouth the man who signs your paycheck?"

_'Why is he always there to hear me talking about him?!' _Mai mustered a smile and backtracked her steps. "The mansion is too big and the doors looked the same so I didn't notice."

"Only irresponsible people thinks of excuses to avoid the blame."

"It's just that-"

"She's probably too engrossed with talking to me, that's why she didn't notice." Takeshi grinned, nudging Mai's shoulder playfully and winked.

Mai tried to smile but her lips wouldn't move. She knew he was trying to help but Naru wouldn't bother to accept that excuse because it wasn't any better than hers. And it was just emphasizing on the point that she was skiving on her job!

Naru stared back. "Takeshi-san, I already mentioned that everyone should stay in their room unless instructed otherwise."

"It's suffocating to stay in a room for more than an hour." He complained.

Naru would have instantly sent the worst insult that no one on earth could think of. But because he was the client, Mai could tell he was holding back his words and saying nothing at all. The only thing he did was to tilt his head back into the room.

"Brown-san, would you please escort Takeshi-san back to his room." His tone didn't make it sound like a question.

"Oh, sure." John stood up from his seat without a second wasted.

"Why can't Mai be the one to escort me back?" Takeshi argued.

Naru frowned inwardly at the first name basis. It was barely half an hour and he already had the balls to call his assistant by her first name? And no one had the rights to tell him what to do. The more Takeshi wanted Mai to take him back, the more Naru wouldn't allow that, though it wasn't like it would happen in the first place.

Instead of stating his obvious displeasure, Naru cooked up an excuse on the spot and directed it back to whiny and troublesome man that he could barely stand at the moment. "I don't see how she is capable of doing that task successfully when she can walk past the base without a second hesitation."

Whenever things lead to Mai, Naru would never hold back his insults.

Mai pouted. "I wasn't paying attention-"

"Exactly."

Her pout grew bigger.

Naru made way for John as the priest politely tried to pry Takeshi from the group and lead him back to his room. Mai sighed and glanced over at her boss after watching them go, immediately regretting it when he was staring, or rather glaring at her openly for whatever reason that made him unhappy at the moment, without a care that she caught him looking at her.

Heck it. Naru was always unhappy with everything.

"Go back inside." He stated before turning back into the base. Mai didn't have any reasons not to obey his orders.

Instead of following Naru to the other side of the room where the desk was filled with his favorite papers and reports, Mai headed straight to the other desk that was piled with monitors.

"Lin-san. Here's the temperature for all the rooms."

"Thank you." The Chinese man took the chart from her hands and went back with his work in silence.

And in just three seconds, she was all alone in the terribly quiet base with two of the most stoic men she knew. Mai fidgeted for a moment and finally dared herself to break the silence.

"Well, is there anything I can do now?" She finally said and glanced at Naru from the corner of her eyes.

He didn't bother to look up. "Tea."

Mai narrowed her eyes before looking back at Lin. "Lin-san, you want any?"

"None at the moment, thank you."

"Okay." Mai spun around and headed to the door. But before she disappeared behind the wall, she turned back and peeked inside the base again, her eyes focused on her boss who was still busy with his papers.

"I'll be back before you know it." She hissed and stuck out her tongue.

She didn't expect him to give her the attention she seek, but he did. Naru looked up and gave a sneer.

"Ever heard of this saying; Action speaks louder than words?"

All Mai could do was to roll her eyes before skipping towards the direction of the kitchen. She went there thrice that day for Naru's tea so she was hundred percent sure she wouldn't get lost,_ if_ no ghost was around to foil her plans of returning to the base safely with the cup of tea.

Back in the base, Lin just finished recording down the temperature into the system as he leaned his aching back on the chair.

"Where's she?"

Lin glanced over at Naru who was still looking intensely at his papers. If Lin didn't know Naru well enough, he would have thought he just imagined hearing those words. He gazed back over the dozen of monitors and immediately spotted Mai in one of them. She was already in the kitchen and staring at the kettle, waiting for it to boil.

He told Naru his findings.

"Hmm." Naru replied.

Lin sighed inwardly. Would it kill him to show a tad amount of emotions to the people who he_ clearly_ _cared_ about?

Apparently, it would.

Just a few minutes ago, Naru was standing by the monitors, arms crossed and obviously sulking while he watched Mai taking her own sweet time coming back to her base, not to mention she was laughing and talking so happily with a guy who looked no less perverted or horny for his age. Of course, Mai was oblivious about everything because she was too naive to know what a guy was thinking about when they were alone with a girl.

_"What an idiot." _Was all Naru said as he continued to glare at the monitors, only leaving for the door when he noted that they were getting closer to the base.

Lin thought he could say the same for him, though Naru was already irritated and he knew his comment wouldn't help to soothe the situation at all. John was aware of the fact too and kept quiet the entire time.

But really, Naru was obviously overreacting. Or maybe he was just trying to hide the fact that he was jealous, using the belief that he was concerned for his assistant's safety with _a guy._ Actually both were the same, in some sense.

"Oh, Taniyama-san is walking back to the base with a guy." Lin suddenly said.

Naru's head snapped up at that very split second, the papers on his hand were left on the table, forgotten.

"Who is it now?"

He tried his hardest not to smirk as he turned his head towards Naru. "Brown-san."

The psychic narrowed his eyes.

Lin thought he couldn't miss the chance when Naru was so vulnerable at getting teased at the moment, even at the sake of the intolerable hours that he would be spending in the base if he was left alone with him.

"I don't care." Naru spat and returned to his work, clearly annoyed that Lin managed to fool him for a moment and make him react so hastily like the stupid idiot he always claimed others were.

Yes, Lin gave the tiniest smile. It was definitely worth it.

* * *

><p>Who can resist a jealous Naru?<br>Reviews are appreciated!


	5. Swirling

5- "There isn't a need to act like you're neat. It isn't going to make me change my impression of you."

* * *

><p>Naru hated going to new places.<p>

Technically, it would mean meeting new people, hearing more noises and triggering those memories he wasn't interested to see _and_ feel when there were things lying around and exposed for him to touch.

But when he first stepped into this place... he couldn't help but even put his crossed arms down and let himself be vulnerable for that very moment.

_'Her home smells just like her.'_ Naru thought as he glanced over the living room.

"Hold on for a moment!" Mai immediately rushed to the couch and adjusted the pillows, setting them in a proper manner.

"There isn't a need to act like you're neat." He tried not to roll his eyes. "It isn't going to make me change my impression of you."

Mai huffed. "This is my house so I can do whatever I want." But her anger was washed away in the next second as she stepped aside and presented her neat sofa and beamed. "Please take a seat."

Without a word, he took a seat while Mai disappeared into a room. And not long later, she came out with a laptop in her hand and set it on the small table in front of him.

She squatted next to the table and pushed the computer closer to Naru, but he made no movement to do anything, only watching her the entire time until she sighed and began her complains. "I just can't get it connected to the internet no matter how hard I tried! I asked Bou-san for help but he had no idea how too." Mai said disappointingly before she clasped her hand together and fluttered her eyelashes happily. "But I believe there's nothing Naru can't do!"

Hearing people praising him for his capabilities weren't something new, but Mai was different. There were two types of compliments she would ever give to him. One was those which she just casually blurted them without thinking, while the other was when she sugarcoat her words so shamelessly because she either made him mad or needed his help with things.

Like now.

Naru eyed her warily before he slouched forward and began finding the problem on her computer.

No matter how much Mai pleaded or sweetened her words, there was no way Naru would agree to go all the way to her house just to do _stupid things_ like this. But he was curious about her new home she claimed she was staying and furthermore, it was only a ten minute walk from the haunted library they were investigating for that day. So he decided that he could spare some time he had on hand on_ stupid things_ like this.

"Oh yeah!" Mai suddenly jumped to her feet, annoying Naru at that very instant. "Do you want some tea?"

That magic word immediately soothed his nerves though. "Yes."

She afforded a grin before rushing into the kitchen.

Not a minute passed and Naru was done. He sighed, not understanding how they couldn't even settle such a easy problem themselves before he leaned back against the couch and enjoyed the short silence. His eyes were soon drawn away from the computer and onto the room again, taking the time to see the details of the house. The painting on the walls, the small television set, the tidbits hidden at the corner of the room and then at a few photo frames on a long table just under the windows.

Naru didn't get the chance to see them properly from his seat when the owner of the house suddenly blocked his view.

"Here! I don't have your favorite black tea but I guess red tea is fine?" Mai showed the teacup to him "It's helps to cure insomnia so it's perfect for you."

"That comment is irrelevant." He muttered as he accepted the drink to his hand, indirectly answering her question. "And your computer is connected to the internet now."

"Really?!" She cheered and flew to the side of her laptop, completely forgetting his existence.

Just as Naru was savoring the tea in his mouth, his vision began to turn a little foggy, swirling and messy. He blinked, the grip on the teacup tightened and he finally realized what was causing the sudden trigger to his psychic powers.

The Mai that was being all excited over the fact that her computer was connected to the computer was gone from his sight and was replaced with a small girl who looked far too similar to a certain bubbly and noisy assistant he had.

The child was sitting at the side of the table, giggling and waving a plastic cup in her hand. Sitting right opposite of the table was a lady who shared a similar brown eyes the girl had.

_"I hope this moment would last forever."_ The lady said, her eyes filled with bliss as she sipped onto her drink in the teacup.

_"Yeah."_ A man voice sounded and the coffee in the cup swirled, showing a reflection of a man who had the same joyful smile. _"Same here."_

_"...Naru?"_

His vision was foggy, swirling and messy again.

That feeling of happiness that he rarely or never felt before was slowly draining away, leaving a bittersweet feeling at the tip of his tongue. And for once in his life, he absently wished that he was able to reenact that psychic dreams again.

"Naru!"

He blinked.

Mai was waving a hand in front of him, her eyes filled with curiosity. "I never knew the red tea is so effective." She said out loud.

Naru continued tipping the cup towards him, enjoying his beverage again while ignoring Mai completely.

She turned back to her computer with a satisfied smile. "By the way, thank you Naru! Now I can do my school work."

He scoffed and Mai immediately frowned.

"What's with that stupid smirk?"

Naru gently placed the teacup on the table, being sure not to damage or drop the precious cup that probably meant everything to Mai and stood up from his seat. "Enjoy doing your _school work_. I'm leaving."

"It's really for school work!" Mai scowled and stood up from her squatting position and rushed towards the door before Naru did. "But anyway, thanks for helping."

"I heard it already. No need to say it twice."

"You're suppose to say_ you're welcome_." Mai rolled her eyes and opened the door.

As his eyes were on her, his shoulders were slumped at ease and hands were uncrossed and stuck to his side. He was supposed to be alert and on guard, but no matter how hard he tried, his barrier seemed to be slowly crumbling down like a melting blob of ice cream. Was it really the effect of the red tea?

It had been a _very long_ while since he seen anything nice in his psychic dreams... maybe it was giving him an inexplicable side effect to his brain.

Really, only Mai was capable on letting strange things to happen to him.

But, he was grateful for that.

"Thank you." Naru merely said before he walked out of the door.

"You're welcome." Mai smiled before she blinked and popped her head out of her apartment. "W-Wait what?"

Quiet and fast, Naru had already disappeared down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Pathetically short, oh well.<br>My exams are finally over so the next update should be around the corner... nonetheless, reviews are appreciated!


	6. Assistant

6- "Don't let me come out to make my own tea again. If so, what's the point of me hiring you as an assistant?"

* * *

><p>To have such a high salary for a mere assistant position, Mai wanted to do her best in everything and make every cent counts. But as time passed, she realized that it was nearly impossible to be the best in front of Naru when he was the one responsible in making her feel like a piece of shit.<p>

She was his assistant, for God's sake. He was supposed to rely on her and not bear the entire burden and responsibilities onto himself. Mai told him to trust her several times, to which she received a sarcastic remark from him and it instantly made her blood boil.

But even though Mai knew it was hard for her to do anything that would meet her boss's standard, she swore she would one day prove to him that she was capable of it.

_If_, she could stop screwing things up whenever he was there.

.o.

"Mai."

"Yes?"

"Tea."

She tried not to roll her eyes. "Yes yes."

Pushing back her seat, Mai trudged to the kitchen and began the usual steps she had been doing every single day. After putting the kettle in place, she sat on a nearby stool by the counter and watched the kettle tiredly, waiting for it to boil.

Seconds became minutes and by the time Mai knew it, she began to doze off in her seat. It wasn't her fault, really. The day was passing too slow for her taste and watching the kettle boil wasn't helping to keep her awake.

Mai didn't know how much time had passed when her head was tipped too heavily to the side and she fell forward. She sprang to her feet before she landed on the ground and quickly glanced around in surprise, as if expecting a volcano to erupt or something.

When she regained back her composure, Mai realized Naru was standing right infront of her with a teacup in his hand. She caught his gaze, staring right at her as he took a sip of his tea and shamelessly, he continued to stare as Mai blushed.

"I-I was just- Actually yesterday I'm-"

Naru quietly set his teacup on the kitchen counter and resumed in watching her stuttering in embarrassment. When she couldn't say anything more, Mai scowled and gritted her teeth when she realized he smirked at her.

"I'm still waiting to hear what you have to say." He spoke.

Mai crossed her arms. "I have nothing to say."

"Guess so." He pushed himself off the counter and tapped the brim of the empty teacup. "Don't let me come out to make my own tea again. If so, what's the point of me hiring you as an assistant?"

His words ticked her off but having no choice, she had to swallow her anger because he had a point. "I got it."

"Then get to it."

There were many things Mai didn't know about Naru, especially how his liver worked.

.o.

"Mai."

"What?"

"Carry these in."

She sighed. That was what she hated to hear the most. Stretching her arms, she poked her head into the van and picked up the lightest equipment she could find as she trotted into mansion.

Their base was located just a few doors down the entrance but it felt like a journey to the moon. Mai stopped on her track before even reaching the base and as gently as she could, she placed the monitor on the ground and stretched again.

All of the sudden, she felt something ticklish rubbing against her leg. Mai gave a surprised cry and glanced down, to find an orange cat purring at her feet. She blinked at the sight before breaking into a smile, squatting down at the instant and began stroking the soft, fluffy fur.

"What brings you here? Kitty Kitty." Mai chuckled and scratched the bottom of the cat's jaw and it purred even more. The smile remained plastered on her face. "How lucky you are, just walking around and enjoying life huh?"

"Do you wish to be a cat then?"

Mai froze and tentatively moved her head to her side. Standing right beside her was Naru, holding onto a heavier looking equipment with a coiled wire hanging over his arms. Instead of a ghost hunter, he looked more like a technician right now.

A _very_ handsome technician.

She sprang to her feet and the cat skipped away in surprise. "Uh..." Mai rubbed her nose, hoping to dispel that awkward moment. "Where's Lin-san?"

"Waiting for you to get the rest of the equipment so he can lock the car." He drawled.

It was just a normal statement but Mai could feel the jab in his tone. She picked up the equipment in a swift and mustered the best smile she could show. "Well, I guess I should hurry then!"

Mai didn't look back as she jogged to the base. For now, she wanted to avoid him more than any possible ghost that could be haunting this house.

.o.

Naru caressed the edge of the report, feeling his brows furrowing as he continued reading the case. He crossed his legs on his seat and shook his head as he threw the file on his desk. He had been reading seven reports for the past few hours and even if he didn't want to admit it, he was_ tired_.

"Mai." Naru shouted across his office room.

"Yeah?"

"Tea."

He imagined her rolling her eyes as she yelled back two _yes_ instead of one. He leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes, trying to push all the work to the back of his head and just rest for a-

_Crash!_

His eyes flew open and he sat up straight in his position. There was silence and silence always meant something was wrong when Mai was involved. He sighed and stalked out of his office, deciding to see what happened although he pretty much knew what was roughly going on.

In the kitchen, Mai was squatting down, with bits and pieces of glass scattered everywhere around her as she was muttering incoherent words to herself. He cleared his throat as loudly as he could and watched her jump in her position. Before he could see her flushing face, she gave a yelp as the pieces of glass in the palm of her hand fell back to the floor.

He carefully walked towards her, avoiding all broken glasses and pulled back her shoulder. "Stand up."

Mai quietly did while hiding an obviously hurt hand behind her back. Couldn't be bothered, he snatched her injured hand and brought it to view as she winced. There was a small thin cut on her palm and blood was oozing out from it.

"What happened?" Lin appeared in the kitchen at the next moment, with a worried look etched on his face. Naru raised an un-amused eyebrow. Did he really have to ask to know?

"Got a small cut. Hehe." Mai answered the obvious.

Her innocent-looking smile irked Naru,_ a lot_. "You still have the cheeks to laugh?"

"What's the big deal? I've got worse." She stuck out a tongue and roughly pulled her wrist away. Naru grunted.

Lin shook his head. "You need first aid. Come to my office, I'll get some bandage for you, Taniyama-san."

"But the glasses-"

Naru sighed. "Just go already."

She opened her mouth, ready to retort but gave up in the end. She carefully tiptoed out of the kitchen and followed Lin to his office, while Naru was left all alone back there with broken glasses all around him.

And no tea.

He slowly bent down and brought the pieces to the palm of his hand. This wasn't the first time Mai broke his teacup and it definitely wasn't the last. In fact, he was already prepared for this because without breaking a thing or two within her vicinity, Mai _wouldn't be_ Mai.

There were many times he questioned his decision in hiring her, of all people in Japan, to be his assistant. But there were times when she made him feel like he made the correct choice. Mai was better with kids, better at communication and better at several other things than him, which he decided not to list them down because he was too proud to acknowledge it.

Still, it was a fact.

Even if Mai was always screwing things up, he was still capable of fixing everything back. That was why he_ allowed_ her to be there to mess things up once in a while... Just like now. She broke the cup and he was there to pick up the pieces. It had been a cycle for many months since she started working for him and he was already used to her presence and her existence in his life.

Now, there_ must _be things screwing up in order to make his life complete.

Besides, if it wasn't Mai, he really couldn't imagine it to be anyone else.

* * *

><p>A few readers have asked if these oneshots are related and to be honest, I don't have that in mind so the events are just random plot bunnies.<br>Oh and just a heads up, these oneshots would mostly occur before they realized Naru's identity, unless stated at the beggining or if it's explained in the story  
>Anyway, reviews are appreciated!<p> 


	7. Pages

7- "This is written by the well-known psychic researcher, Oliver Davis! Don't you know him?"

* * *

><p>Mai yawned.<p>

Bored was an understatement. She was beyond and horribly tired _and_ bored of sitting in front of the desk and doing nothing. Not exactly nothing. She still hadn't file the remaining papers that Naru asked her to hours ago, but who one earth has the energy to do such mundane stuff early in the morning?!

As a plea was ringing in her brain, praying that some client would just popped into their office, the door opened on the cue and Mai literally jumped up from her seat with a bright smile on her face in an instant. Finally, there would be something for her to do instead of-

"Where's Naru?"

Her face fell. Standing by the door was Masako, in her usual kimono dress as she glanced around the office to seek for her own answer. When she couldn't find Naru, she sent a pointed look over Mai and a vein appeared on the latter's forehead. _'Would it kill her to acknowledge me before asking for Naru?'_

"_Good afternoon_, Masako-chan." Mai gritted her teeth before she gestured her thumb to her back. "In his office, like always." She drawled.

"I see." Masako walked past Mai's desk without a second look and was about to knock on Naru's door when it flung open on its own.

"Good afternoon, Naru." Masako smiled.

Mai tried not to roll her eyes.

"Good afternoon, Hara-san." Naru didn't sound good in his greeting at all.

He then turned towards Mai and she stared back bitterly at him. _'What does he want now? Don't tell me he wants tea.' _

"Mai. We're going out."

Her heart began beating so loudly that she was afraid that the two would hear it in the quiet office. If she didn't see the horrified look on Masako's face, Mai would have thought she heard wrongly. She took in a deep breath to relax a moment.

"G-Go out?" Mai confirmed again.

"I want you to accompany me to buy some things."

Oh. So it was _that_ meaning. Mai glanced over at the relief look on Masako's face and grimaced inwardly.

"Why don't I accompany you instead?" Masako offered.

"It's fine." Naru slightly pushed her aside as he stepped out of his room and frowned at Mai who was still rooted in her position.

"What are you doing? Let's go."

"Uh- yeah. Sure." Mai watched Masako who was still standing right there, looking lost. Even if they weren't always on the same side of the page, Mai still pitied her effort in making her way here and ended up being cast aside just like that. "Then what about Masako-chan?" Mai urged Naru.

He was already by the door and without looking back, he opened it and stepped out. "If you have any inquiry about a case, you can consult Lin."

Mai gulped and awkwardly smiled at Masako. "Lin-san is in his room." She pointed at the end of the office before skipping out of the office. There wasn't the time to dwell any longer since Naru gave no sign in being patient enough today to wait for her.

And she was right. Naru was already on the street, hands in his black pants and marching to who-knows-where. Mai jogged over as quickly as possible and she finally was able to synchronize her steps with his. Mai noted a few girls gawking at her boss and giggling among themselves but well, she couldn't blame them.

"So what are we buying?" Mai broke the silence.

All of the sudden, he stopped in his track and Mai followed too. Slowly, she followed his gaze and realized they were both standing outside a bookshop. Before Mai could prompt him, Naru was already making his way inside and she shook her head as she quickly rushed inside too.

Naru had disappeared just a second she let her eyes off him, but it was still easy to spot him with the way he dressed in the colorful bookstore. Mai walked over to the corner of the store and to where he was as she slightly bent over to see the cover of the book he was already holding and reading.

"Pa... Para..." Mai squinted and her lips curled down. The word was too hard for her to pronounce. A typical book suited for Naru.

Without even looking at the cover, Naru turned a page. "Parapsychology."

She stuck out a tongue and began lingering among the books before them. "It's weird that they have a section for supernatural and psychic stuff."

"This shows how often you come to a bookstore."

Mai pouted. "Yeah yeah." And under her breath, she muttered "Nerd."

"I heard that."

"So!" Mai chimed innocently. "You came out today to buy books?"

He merely grunt in response and slotted the book back to the shelf.

"Wait, isn't that-" Mai squeezed in between Naru and the shelf and pulled the spine of the book that caught her eyes. He watched her as she began bouncing on her feet, extremely excited over the book in her hand. "I found it!"

"What?"

Mai showed the thick book in her hand. "This is written by the well-known psychic researcher, Oliver Davis! Don't you know him?" She flipped the book and stared at it in awe, not bothering to listen to his reply. How could Naru not know him when he was basically a walking Wikipedia? "He seemed pretty cool too, from what Bou-san said about him."

Naru stared at her from the corner of his eyes. "Can you even read pass the first page?"

On that very said page, Mai cringed hard at all the English words. Not even pass the first sentence, her head was already spinning. "Apparently, no." She answered the obvious.

He picked out another book from the shelf again. "There were several copies published in Japanese, but it was discontinued because of some legal issues."

Mai blinked. "Really? But how do you know that?"

"Because I know."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I forgot. You know _everything_." She turned to the back of the book and sighed even further in disappointment when she noted the price tag. "The price is a little out of my league too." Shrugging as impassively as possible, she put the book back into the slot.

Naru resumed in reading the book he picked. "If you're done wandering around, go buy a few pens. We're running out."

Mai made a face before sticking her hand out.

"What?"

"Money. I left mine at the office."

He stared at her and she stared back. And only after a long while, Naru finally replied.

"I didn't bring mine too."

.o.

"Here's your paycheck."

Mai gleefully accepted the sealed envelope and rubbed it between her two hands. It seemed like forever since she last received her pay and when she felt the thin slip of paper between her hands, she felt like her life was a lot more blissful than she imagined.

"Thank you!" She chirped. "Do you want some tea?"

He stared at her. "You just brought it in twenty seconds ago."

Mai glanced at the filled teacup she just placed on his desk when she came in to take her paycheck. "Opps." She was just too happy to remember that.

"Anyway," Naru scooped something from the bottom of his desk and lifted a gift bag. "Take this."

Mai blinked and stared at the bag in his hand. "What is that?"

"See it yourself."

She accepted the bag tentatively and peered what was inside. Instantly, Mai gasped and glanced up at Naru who was already reading his report, completely nonchalant to her reaction.

"This is-!" Mai exclaimed as she fished out the book from the bag, leaving her paycheck aside. To confirm her suspicion, she opened the book and flipped through the pages of Japanese-filled words. "How did you get this?! Didn't you say that they discontinued the publication?"

"I have my ways."

She stared down at the book, her knuckles turning white from gripping the cover too hard. "I don't know what to say..."

"I thought you like to educate people about their manners?" He said, tone tainted with sarcasm.

"A thank you wouldn't be enough..." Mai bit her quivering lips. "And to think that _you_ would do this for me."

Naru sighed. "So do you want it or not?"

"Of course!" Mai blurted and hugged the book tightly to her chest. After regaining her composure, her lips twitched up to form a smile. "Really, thank you Naru."

He waved her out and Mai couldn't have the heart to be angry at his usual rude gesture. Instead, she giggly stroked the book in her arms and skipped out after taking the gift bag and her paycheck too.

She couldn't wait to get back home and read the book all night.

* * *

><p>A really quick update in between! This idea had been haunting me since last night and I couldn't help but type this all in one go. Hope you guys like it though.<br>Reviews are appreciated!


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